Smart-home device that self-qualifies for away-state functionality

ABSTRACT

A thermostat, includes a housing and an occupancy sensor that is disposed within the housing and configured to detect physical presences of users within a responsive area of the occupancy sensor. The thermostat may also include a processing system that is disposed within the housing and in operative communication with the occupancy sensor. The processing system may be configured to determine, after a trial period, whether to activate an away-state feature by storing indications of how often the occupancy sensor detected physical presences during the trial period, computing an occupancy level for the trial period, comparing the occupancy level to a threshold criterion, determining whether sufficiently true indications of occupancy conditions were sensed by the occupancy sensor during the trial period, and enabling the away-state feature of the thermostat if it is determined that the sufficiently true indications of occupancy conditions were sensed during the trial period.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the following commonly assignedapplications, each of which is incorporated by reference herein: U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/550,345 filed Oct. 21, 2011; U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/627,996 filed Oct. 21, 2011; and U.S.Ser. No. 13/279,151 filed Oct. 21, 2011.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This patent specification relates to systems and methods for themonitoring and control of energy-consuming systems or otherresource-consuming systems. More particularly, this patent specificationrelates to control units that govern the operation of energy-consumingsystems, household devices, or other resource-consuming systems,including methods for activating electronic displays for thermostatsthat govern the operation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

While substantial effort and attention continues toward the developmentof newer and more sustainable energy supplies, the conservation ofenergy by increased energy efficiency remains crucial to the world'senergy future. According to an October 2010 report from the U.S.Department of Energy, heating and cooling account for 56% of the energyuse in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense formost homes. Along with improvements in the physical plant associatedwith home heating and cooling (e.g., improved insulation, higherefficiency furnaces), substantial increases in energy efficiency can beachieved by better control and regulation of home heating and coolingequipment. By activating heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) equipment for judiciously selected time intervals and carefullychosen operating levels, substantial energy can be saved while at thesame time keeping the living space suitably comfortable for itsoccupants.

Programmable thermostats have become more prevalent in recent years inview of Energy Star (US) and TCO (Europe) standards, and which haveprogressed considerably in the number of different settings for an HVACsystem that can be individually manipulated. Some programmablethermostats have standard default programs built in. Additionally, usersare able to adjust the manufacturer defaults to optimize their ownenergy usage. Ideally, a schedule is used that accurately reflects theusual behavior of the occupants in terms of sleeping, waking and periodsof non-occupancy. Due to difficulty in programming many thermostats,however, may schedules do not accurately reflect the usual behavior ofthe occupants. For example, the schedule may not account for some usualperiods of non-occupancy. Additionally, even when a suitable schedule isprogrammed into the thermostat, inevitably there are departures fromusual behavior. The user can manually set back the thermostat whenleaving the house and then resume the schedule upon returning, but manyusers never or very seldom perform these tasks. Thus an opportunity forenergy and cost savings exist if a thermostat can automatically set backthe setpoint temperature during time of non-occupancy.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0019051 A1 discussesoverriding of nonoccupancy status in a thermostat device based uponanalysis or recent patterns of occupancy. The publication discusses a“safety time,” for example during the nighttime hours in a hotel ormotel room, during which requirements to maintain a condition ofoccupancy are relaxed based on pattern recognition analysis. A“hysteresis” period of typically less than a few minutes can be builtinto the motion sensor to establish occupancy for some period after anymotion is detected or signaled. An increased hysteresis period can beused during safety times such as during the evening and night hours. Thefocus is mainly on reliably detecting when occupants return from anabsence.

Important issues arise, however, at the interface between (i)energy-saving technologies that might be achievable using known sensingand processing methods, and (ii) the actual widespread user adoption ofdevices that implement such energy-saving technologies and theintegration of those devices into their daily routines and environment.It has been found especially important that the “first contact” betweena user and an energy-saving device, and the first couple of days/weeksof the user experience with that energy-saving device, constitute aparticularly easy, enjoyable, and pleasant experience, or else the usercan quickly “turn off” or “tune out” to the device and its energy-savingadvantages, such as by de-activating the advanced features (for example,setting their thermostat to a “temporary” manual-override mode on apermanent basis) or even taking it back to the seller and replacing itwith their old device or a “less complicated” device. More bluntlystated, the roadways of green technology are littered with the skulls ofdevices and systems that promised to save energy but that no homeownerswanted to use. One or more issues arises in the context of providing anintelligent, multi-sensing, network-connected, energy-saving device foradoption into the home in an easy, pleasant, and user-friendly mannerthat is at least partially addressed by one or more of the embodimentsdescribed further hereinbelow. Other issues arise as would be apparentto a person skilled in the art in view of the present teachings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a thermostat may be presented. The thermostat mayinclude a housing and a processing system disposed within the housing.The processing may be coupled to a user interface and configured to bein operative communication with one or more temperature sensors fordetermining an ambient air temperature. The processing system may alsobe in operative communication with one or more input devices, includingthe user interface, for determining a setpoint temperature value. Theprocessing system may be in still further operative communication with aheating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control theHVAC system based at least in part on a comparison of a measured ambienttemperature and the setpoint temperature value.

The thermostat may also include at least one occupancy sensor inoperative communication with the processing system. The thermostat mayinclude an away-state feature in which the thermostat enters into anaway-state mode of operation upon a determination by the processingsystem based on readings acquired by the at least one occupancy sensorthat an away-state criterion indicative of a non-occupancy condition foran enclosure in which the thermostat has been installed has beensatisfied, where the away-state mode of operation can include anautomated setpoint temperature setback mode.

In one embodiment, the processing system can be further configured toautomatically determine, without requiring user input, whether toactivate the away-state feature for the enclosure in which thethermostat has been installed. This may include receiving readings fromthe at least one occupancy sensor during a trial period; comparinginformation derived from the trial period readings to a thresholdcriterion to establish whether sufficiently true indications ofoccupancy conditions were sensed by the at least one occupancy sensorduring the trial period; and enabling the away-state feature of thethermostat only if it is determined that the sufficiently trueindications of occupancy conditions were sensed during the trial period.

In another embodiment, a method of qualifying a thermostat to activatean away-state feature may be presented. The method may include receivingreadings from at least one occupancy sensor during a trial period, wherethe at least one occupancy sensor can be in operative communication witha processing system. In one embodiment, the processing system isdisposed within a thermostat housing and coupled to a user interface,the processing system being configured to be in operative communicationwith one or more temperature sensors for determining an ambient airtemperature, in operative communication with one or more input devicesincluding the user interface for determining a setpoint temperaturevalue, and in still further operative communication with a heating,ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVACsystem based at least in part on a comparison of a measured ambienttemperature and the setpoint temperature value.

The method may also include comparing information derived from the trialperiod readings to threshold criterion to establish whether sufficientlytrue indications of occupancy conditions were sensed by the at least oneoccupancy sensor during the trial period. The method may additionallyinclude determining automatically, without requiring user input, whetherto activate the away-state feature for an enclosure in which thethermostat has been installed. In one embodiment, the away-state featurecauses the thermostat to enter into an away-state mode of operation upona determination by the processing system based on the readings acquiredby the at least one occupancy sensor that an away-state criterionindicative of a non-occupancy condition for the enclosure in which thethermostat has been installed has been satisfied, where the away-statemode of operation may include an automated setpoint temperature setbackmode. The method may further include enabling the away-state feature ofthe thermostat only if it is determined that the sufficiently trueindications of occupancy conditions were sensed during the trial period.

In yet another embodiment, another thermostat may be presented. Thethermostat may include a housing and an occupancy sensor that isdisposed within the housing and configured to detect physical presencesof users within a responsive area of the occupancy sensor. Thethermostat may also include a processing system that is disposed withinthe housing and in operative communication with the occupancy sensor,the processing system being configured to determine after a trial periodwhether to activate an away-state feature. This determination mayinclude storing indications of how often the occupancy sensor detectedphysical presences of users during the trial period; computing anoccupancy level for the trial period based on the stored indications;comparing the occupancy level to a threshold criterion; determiningwhether sufficiently true indications of occupancy conditions weresensed by the occupancy sensor during the trial period based on thecomparison; and enabling the away-state feature of the thermostat onlyif it is determined that the sufficiently true indications of occupancyconditions were sensed during the trial period.

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the presentinvention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of thespecification and the drawings. Also note that other embodiments may bedescribed in the following disclosure and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a thermostat, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded perspective view of a thermostat having ahead unit and the backplate, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded perspective view of a head unit withrespect to its primary components, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3B illustrates an exploded perspective view of a backplate withrespect to its primary components, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4A illustrates a simplified functional block diagram for a headunit, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4B illustrates a simplified functional block diagram for abackplate, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified circuit diagram of a system for managingthe power consumed by a thermostat, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6A illustrates an overhead view of an area monitored by athermostat, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6B illustrates an overhead view of another area monitored by athermostat, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a state diagram for determining whether sufficientsensor confidence can be established for enabling and away-statefeature, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graph of various sensors responses during a trialperiod, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a graph depicting one method of storing occupancysensor measurements, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates a graph depicting storage of occupancy sensormeasurements during the trial period.

FIG. 11 illustrates a representation of occupancy levels for each day inone week, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method for determining whether anaway-state feature should be enabled, according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter of this patent specification further relates to thesubject matter of the following commonly assigned applications, each ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein: U.S. Ser. No. 13/269,501filed Oct. 7, 2011; International Application PCT/US12/00007 filed Jan.3, 2012; U.S. Ser. No. 13/632,070 filed even date herewith and entitled,“Automated Presence Detection and Presence-Related Control Within AnIntelligent Controller;” and U.S. Ser. No. 13/632,112 filed even dateherewith and entitled, “Adjusting Proximity Thresholds for Activating aDevice User Interface.” The above-referenced patent applications arecollectively referenced herein as “the commonly-assigned incorporatedapplications.”

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the various embodiments of the present invention. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art will realize that these various embodimentsof the present invention are illustrative only and are not intended tobe limiting in any way. Other embodiments of the present invention willreadily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

In addition, for clarity purposes, not all of the routine features ofthe embodiments described herein are shown or described. One of ordinaryskill in the art would readily appreciate that in the development of anysuch actual embodiment, numerous embodiment-specific decisions may berequired to achieve specific design objectives. These design objectiveswill vary from one embodiment to another and from one developer toanother. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effortmight be complex and time-consuming but would nevertheless be a routineengineering undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art havingthe benefit of this disclosure.

It is to be appreciated that while one or more embodiments are describedfurther herein in the context of typical HVAC system used in aresidential home, such as single-family residential home, the scope ofthe present teachings is not so limited. More generally, thermostatsaccording to one or more of the preferred embodiments are applicable fora wide variety of enclosures having one or more HVAC systems including,without limitation, duplexes, townhomes, multi-unit apartment buildings,hotels, retail stores, office buildings, and industrial buildings.Further, it is to be appreciated that while the terms user, customer,installer, homeowner, occupant, guest, tenant, landlord, repair person,and/or the like may be used to refer to the person or persons who areinteracting with the thermostat or other device or user interface in thecontext of one or more scenarios described herein, these references areby no means to be considered as limiting the scope of the presentteachings with respect to the person or persons who are performing suchactions.

Exemplary Thermostat Embodiments

Provided according to one or more embodiments are systems, methods, andcomputer program products for controlling one or more HVAC systems basedon one or more versatile sensing and control units (VSCU units), eachVSCU unit being configured and adapted to provide sophisticated,customized, energy-saving HVAC control functionality while at the sametime being visually appealing, non-intimidating, and easy to use. A VSCUmay also be referred to herein simply as a “control unit.” The term“thermostat” is used herein below to represent a particular type ofcontrol unit that is particularly applicable for HVAC control in anenclosure. Although “thermostat” and “control unit” may be seen asgenerally interchangeable for the contexts of HVAC control of anenclosure, it is within the scope of the present teachings for each ofthe embodiments herein to be applied to control units having controlfunctionality over measurable characteristics other than temperature(e.g., pressure, flow rate, height, position, velocity, acceleration,capacity, power, loudness, brightness) for any of a variety of differentcontrol systems involving the governance of one or more measurablecharacteristics of one or more physical systems, and/or the governanceof other energy or resource consuming systems such as water usagesystems, air usage systems, systems involving the usage of other naturalresources, and systems involving the usage of various other forms ofenergy.

FIGS. 1-5 and the descriptions in relation thereto provide exemplaryembodiments of thermostat hardware and/or software that can be used toimplement the specific embodiments of the appended claims. Thisthermostat hardware and/or software is not meant to be limiting, and ispresented to provide an enabling disclosure. FIG. 1 illustrates aperspective view of a thermostat 100, according to one embodiment. Inthis specific embodiment, the thermostat 100 can be controlled by atleast two types of user input, the first being a rotation of the outerring 112, and the second being an inward push on an outer cap 108 untilan audible and/or tactile “click” occurs. As used herein, these twotypes of user inputs, may be referred to as “manipulating” thethermostat. In other embodiments, manipulating the thermostat may alsoinclude pressing keys on a keypad, voice recognition commands, and/orany other type of input that can be used to change or adjust settings onthe thermostat 100.

For this embodiment, the outer cap 108 can comprise an assembly thatincludes the outer ring 112, a cover 114, an electronic display 116, anda metallic portion 124. Each of these elements, or the combination ofthese elements, may be referred to as a “housing” for the thermostat100. Simultaneously, each of these elements, or the combination of theseelements, may also form a user interface. The user interface mayspecifically include the electronic display 116. In FIG. 1, the userinterface 116 may be said to operate in an active display mode. Theactive display mode may include providing a backlight for the electronicdisplay 116. In other embodiments, the active display mode may increasethe intensity and/or light output of the electronic display 116 suchthat a user can easily see displayed settings of the thermostat 100,such as a current temperature, a setpoint temperature, an HVAC function,and/or the like. The active display mode may be contrasted with aninactive display mode (not shown). The inactive display mode can disablea backlight, reduce the amount of information displayed, lessen theintensity of the display, and/or altogether turn off the electronicdisplay 116, depending on the embodiment.

Depending on the settings of the thermostat 100, the active display modeand the inactive display mode of the electronic display 116 may also orinstead be characterized by the relative power usage of each mode. Inone embodiment, the active display mode may generally requiresubstantially more electrical power than the inactive display mode. Insome embodiments, different operating modes of the electronic display116 may instead be characterized completely by their power usage. Inthese embodiments, the different operating modes of the electronicdisplay 116 may be referred to as a first mode and a second mode, wherethe user interface requires more power when operating in the first modethan when operating in the second mode.

According to some embodiments the electronic display 116 may comprise adot-matrix layout (individually addressable) such that arbitrary shapescan be generated, rather than being a segmented layout. According tosome embodiments, a combination of dot-matrix layout and segmentedlayout is employed. According to some embodiments, electronic display116 may be a backlit color liquid crystal display (LCD). An example ofinformation displayed on the electronic display 116 is illustrated inFIG. 1, and includes central numerals 120 that are representative of acurrent setpoint temperature. According to some embodiments, metallicportion 124 can have a number of slot-like openings so as to facilitatethe use of a sensors 130, such as a passive infrared motion sensor(PIR), mounted beneath the slot-like openings.

According to some embodiments, the thermostat 100 can include additionalcomponents, such as a processing system 160, display driver 164, and awireless communications system 166. The processing system 160 canadapted or configured to cause the display driver 164 to cause theelectronic display 116 to display information to the user. Theprocessing system 160 can also be configured to receive user input viathe rotatable ring 112. These additional components, including theprocessing system 160, can be enclosed within the housing, as displayedin FIG. 1. These additional components are described in further detailherein below.

The processing system 160, according to some embodiments, is capable ofcarrying out the governance of the thermostat's operation. For example,processing system 160 can be further programmed and/or configured tomaintain and update a thermodynamic model for the enclosure in which theHVAC system is installed. According to some embodiments, the wirelesscommunications system 166 can be used to communicate with devices suchas personal computers, remote servers, handheld devices, smart phones,and/or other thermostats or HVAC system components. These communicationscan be peer-to-peer communications, communications through one or moreservers located on a private network, or and/or communications through acloud-based service.

Motion sensing as well as other techniques can be use used in thedetection and/or prediction of occupancy, as is described further in thecommonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. 12/881,430, supra. According to someembodiments, occupancy information can be a used in generating aneffective and efficient scheduled program. For example, an activeproximity sensor 170A can be provided to detect an approaching user byinfrared light reflection, and an ambient light sensor 170B can beprovided to sense visible light. The proximity sensor 170A can be usedin conjunction with a plurality of other sensors to detect proximity inthe range of about one meter so that the thermostat 100 can initiate“waking up” when the user is approaching the thermostat and prior to theuser touching the thermostat. Such use of proximity sensing is usefulfor enhancing the user experience by being “ready” for interaction assoon as, or very soon after the user is ready to interact with thethermostat. Further, the wake-up-on-proximity functionality also allowsfor energy savings within the thermostat by “sleeping” when no userinteraction is taking place or about to take place. The various types ofsensors that may be used, as well as the operation of the “wake up”function are described in much greater detail throughout the remainderof this disclosure.

In some embodiments, the thermostat can be physically and/orfunctionally divided into at least two different units. Throughout thisdisclosure, these two units can be referred to as a head unit and abackplate. FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded perspective view 200 of athermostat 208 having a head unit 210 and a backplate 212, according toone embodiment. Physically, this arrangement may be advantageous duringan installation process. In this embodiment, the backplate 212 can firstbe attached to a wall, and the HVAC wires can be attached to a pluralityof HVAC connectors on the backplate 212. Next, the head unit 210 can beconnected to the backplate 212 in order to complete the installation ofthe thermostat 208.

FIG. 3A illustrates an exploded perspective view 300 a of a head unit330 with respect to its primary components, according to one embodiment.Here, the head unit 330 may include an electronic display 360. Accordingto this embodiment, the electronic display 360 may comprise an LCDmodule. Furthermore, the head unit 330 may include a mounting assembly350 used to secure the primary components in a completely assembled headunit 330. The head unit 330 may further include a circuit board 340 thatcan be used to integrate various electronic components described furtherbelow. In this particular embodiment, the circuit board 340 of the headunit 330 can include a manipulation sensor 342 to detect usermanipulations of the thermostat. In embodiments using a rotatable ring,the manipulation sensor 342 may comprise an optical finger navigationmodule as illustrated in FIG. 3A. A rechargeable battery 344 may also beincluded in the assembly of the head unit 330. In one preferredembodiment, rechargeable battery 344 can be a Lithium-Ion battery, whichmay have a nominal voltage of 3.7 volts and a nominal capacity of 560mAh.

FIG. 3B illustrates an exploded perspective view 300 b of a backplate332 with respect to its primary components, according to one embodiment.The backplate 332 may include a frame 310 that can be used to mount,protect, or house a backplate circuit board 320. The backplate circuitboard 320 may be used to mount electronic components, including one ormore processing functions, and/or one or more HVAC wire connectors 322.The one or more HVAC wire connectors 322 may include integrated wireinsertion sensing circuitry configured to determine whether or not awire is mechanically and/or electrically connected to each of the one ormore HVAC wire connectors 322. In this particular embodiment, tworelatively large capacitors 324 are a part of power stealing circuitrythat can be mounted to the backplate circuit board 320. The powerstealing circuitry is discussed further herein below.

In addition to physical divisions within the thermostat that simplifyinstallation process, the thermostat may also be divided functionallybetween the head unit and the backplate. FIG. 4A illustrates asimplified functional block diagram 400 a for a head unit, according toone embodiment. The functions embodied by block diagram 400 a arelargely self-explanatory, and may be implemented using one or moreprocessing functions. As used herein, the term “processing function” mayrefer to any combination of hardware and/or software. For example, aprocessing function may include a microprocessor, a microcontroller,distributed processors, a lookup table, digital logic,logical/arithmetic functions implemented in analog circuitry, and/or thelike. A processing function may also be referred to as a processingsystem, a processing circuit, or simply a circuit.

In this embodiment, a processing function on the head unit may beimplemented by an ARM processor. The head unit processing function mayinterface with the electronic display 402, an audio system 404, and amanipulation sensor 406 as a part of a user interface 408. The head unitprocessing function may also facilitate wireless communications 410 byinterfacing with various wireless modules, such as a Wi-Fi module 412and/or a ZigBee module 414. Furthermore, the head unit processingfunction may be configured to control the core thermostat operations416, such as operating the HVAC system. The head unit processingfunction may further be configured to determine or sense occupancy 418of a physical location, and to determine building characteristics 420that can be used to determine time-to-temperature characteristics. Usingthe occupancy sensing 418, the processing function on the head unit mayalso be configured to learn and manage operational schedules 422, suchas diurnal heat and cooling schedules. A power management module 462 maybe used to interface with a corresponding power management module on theback plate, the rechargeable battery, and a power control circuit 464 onthe back plate.

Additionally, the head unit processing function may include and/or becommunicatively coupled to one or more memories. The one or morememories may include one or more sets of instructions that cause theprocessing function to operate as described above. The one or morememories may also include a sensor history and global state objects 424.The one or more memories may be integrated with the processing function,such as a flash memory or RAM memory available on many commercialmicroprocessors. The head unit processing function may also beconfigured to interface with a cloud management system 426, and may alsooperate to conserve energy wherever appropriate 428. An interface 432 toa backplate processing function 430 may also be included, and may beimplemented using a hardware connector.

FIG. 4B illustrates a simplified functional block diagram for abackplate, according to one embodiment. Using an interface 436 that ismatched to the interface 432 shown in FIG. 4A, the backplate processingfunction can communicate with the head unit processing function 438. Thebackplate processing function can include wire insertion sensing 440that is coupled to external circuitry 442 configured to provide signalsbased on different wire connection states. The backplate processingfunction may be configured to manage the HVAC switch actuation 444 bydriving power FET circuitry 446 to control the HVAC system.

The backplate processing function may also include a sensor pollinginterface 448 to interface with a plurality of sensors. In thisparticular embodiment, the plurality of sensors may include atemperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a PIR sensor, a proximity sensor,an ambient light sensor, and or other sensors not specifically listed.This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Other types of sensors may beused depending on the particular embodiment and application, such assound sensors, flame sensors, smoke detectors, and/or the like. Thesensor polling interface 448 may be communicatively coupled to a sensorreading memory 450. The sensor reading memory 450 can store sensorreadings and may be located internally or externally to amicrocontroller or microprocessor.

Finally, the backplate processing function can include a powermanagement unit 460 that is used to control various digital and/oranalog components integrated with the backplate and used to manage thepower system of the thermostat. Although one having skill in the artwill recognize many different implementations of a power managementsystem, the power management system of this particular embodiment caninclude a bootstrap regulator 462, a power stealing circuit 464, a buckconverter 466, and/or a battery controller 468.

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified circuit diagram 500 of a system formanaging the power consumed by a thermostat, according to oneembodiment. The powering circuitry 510 comprises a full-wave bridgerectifier 520, a storage and waveform-smoothing bridge output capacitor522 (which can be, for example, on the order of 30 microfarads), a buckregulator circuit 524, a power-and-battery (PAB) regulation circuit 528,and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery 530. In conjunction with othercontrol circuitry including backplate power management circuitry 527,head unit power management circuitry 529, and the microcontroller 508,the powering circuitry 510 can be configured and adapted to have thecharacteristics and functionality described herein below. Description offurther details of the powering circuitry 510 and associated componentscan be found elsewhere in the instant disclosure and/or in the commonlyassigned U.S. Ser. No. 13/034,678, supra, and U.S. Ser. No. 13/267,871,supra.

By virtue of the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5, when there is a“C” wire presented upon installation, the powering circuitry 510operates as a relatively high-powered, rechargeable-battery-assistedAC-to-DC converting power supply. When there is not a “C” wirepresented, the powering circuitry 510 operates as a power-stealing,rechargeable-battery-assisted AC-to-DC converting power supply. Thepowering circuitry 510 generally serves to provide the voltage Vcc MAINthat is used by the various electrical components of the thermostat,which in one embodiment can be about 4.0 volts. For the case in whichthe “C” wire is present, there is no need to worry about accidentallytripping (as there is in inactive power stealing) or untripping (foractive power stealing) an HVAC call relay, and therefore relativelylarge amounts of power can be assumed to be available. Generally, thepower supplied by the “C” wire will be greater than the instantaneouspower required at any time by the remaining circuits in the thermostat.

However, a “C” wire will typically only be present in about 20% ofhomes. Therefore, the powering circuitry 510 may also be configured to“steal” power from one of the other HVAC wires in the absence of a “C”wire. As used herein, “inactive power stealing” refers to the powerstealing that is performed during periods in which there is no activecall in place based on the lead from which power is being stolen. Thus,for cases where it is the “Y” lead from which power is stolen, “inactivepower stealing” refers to the power stealing that is performed whenthere is no active cooling call in place. As used herein, “active powerstealing” refers to the power stealing that is performed during periodsin which there is an active call in place based on the lead from whichpower is being stolen. Thus, for cases where it is the “Y” lead fromwhich power is stolen, “active power stealing” refers to the powerstealing that is performed when there is an active cooling call inplace. During inactive or active power stealing, power can be stolenfrom a selected one of the available call relay wires. While a completedescription of the power stealing circuitry 510 can be found in thecommonly assigned applications that have been previously incorporatedherein by reference, the following brief explanation is sufficient forpurposes of this disclosure.

Some components in the thermostat, such as the head unit processingfunction, the user interface, and/or the electronic display may consumemore instantaneous power than can be provided by power stealing alone.When these more power-hungry components are actively operating, thepower supplied by power stealing can be supplemented with therechargeable battery 530. In other words, when the thermostat is engagedin operations, such as when the electronic display is in an activedisplay mode, power may be supplied by both power stealing and therechargeable battery 530. In order to preserve the power stored in therechargeable battery 530, and to give the rechargeable battery 530 anopportunity to recharge, some embodiments optimize the amount of timethat the head unit processing function and the electronic display areoperating in an active mode. In other words, it may be advantageous insome embodiments to keep the head unit processing function in a sleepmode or low power mode and to keep the electronic display in an inactivedisplay mode as long as possible without affecting the user experience.

When the head unit processing function and the electronic display are inan inactive or sleep mode, the power consumed by the thermostat isgenerally less than the power provided by power stealing. Therefore, thepower that is not consumed by the thermostat can be used to recharge therechargeable battery 530. In this embodiment, the backplate processingfunction 508 (MSP430) can be configured to monitor the environmentalsensors in a low-power mode, and then wake the head unit processingfunction 532 (AM3703) when needed to control the HVAC system, etc.Similarly, the backplate processing function 508 can be used to monitorsensors used to detect the closeness of a user, and wake the head unitprocessing system 532 and/or the electronic display when it isdetermined that a user intends to interface with the thermostat.

It will be understood by one having skill in the art that the variousthermostat embodiments depicted and described in relation to FIGS. 1-5are merely exemplary and not meant to be limiting. Many other hardwareand/or software configurations may be used to implement a thermostat andthe various functions described herein below. These embodiments shouldbe seen as an exemplary platform in which the following embodiments canbe implemented to provide an enabling disclosure. Of course, thefollowing methods, systems, and/or software program products could alsobe implemented using different types of thermostats, different hardware,and/or different software.

Enabling an Away-State Feature

In modern network-enabled homes, many different types of devices can beused to control various aspects of the homes environment, including airtemperature, humidity, fan speed, music, television, appliances, and/orthe like. Many embodiments of the present invention enable these devicesto be configured to operate in one mode when the home is occupied and tooperate in a second mode when the home is unoccupied. For example, whenthe home is occupied, devices can be configured to activate userinterfaces, maintain certain levels of temperature and/or humidity,provide predetermined volume levels, and detect user movements forrecording and determining user profiles. On the other hand, when thehome is unoccupied, devices can be configured to turn off userinterfaces, conserve power by altering normal levels of temperature andhumidity, turn off appliances, and otherwise reduce the power usage ofthe home when no one is there.

Users may find it inconvenient to manually program devices according totheir home and away schedules. Users may also simply forget to changesettings on control devices in their homes before they leave, causingthe control devices to operate in the user's absence as though they werehome. Alternatively, users may simply forget to change settings oncontrol devices when they arrive home, causing uncomfortable livingconditions and general dissatisfaction with the control devices.Therefore, embodiments described herein provide methods and systemsdesigned to enable an away-state feature that automatically changes theoperating mode of a control device when it is determined that anenclosure in which the control device is installed is no longeroccupied.

Some embodiments may use occupancy sensors associated with a controldevice to determine whether an enclosure is occupied or not. As usedherein, the term “occupancy sensor” may include any sensor configured todetermine whether an enclosure is physically occupied. In oneembodiment, an occupancy sensor may include a Passive Infrared sensor(PIR). In another embodiment, an occupancy sensor may include a sensorconfigured to emit electromagnetic radiation and to receive reflectionsof electromagnetic radiation. In yet another embodiment, an occupancysensor may include a near-range PIR. Other examples of occupancy sensorsmay include microphones, CCD cameras, magnetic switches, microwavesystems, and/or the like.

An enclosure occupancy state can be continuously and automaticallysensed using the occupancy sensors, the currently sensed state beingclassified as occupied (or “home” or “activity sensed”) or unoccupied(or “away” or “inactive”). If the currently sensed occupancy state hasbeen “inactive” for a predetermined minimum interval, termed herein anaway-state confidence window (ASCW), then an away-state mode ofoperation can be triggered in which an actual operating setpoint ischanged to a predetermined energy-saving away-state value, regardless ofa setpoint value indicated by the normal control settings and/orschedule. The purpose of the away-state mode of operation is to avoidunnecessarily using energy when there are no occupants present toactually experience or enjoy the comfort of the enclosure.

When the specific control device comprises a thermostat, the away-statevalue may comprise a temperature, and may be set, by way of example, toa default predetermined value of 62 degrees for winter periods (oroutside temperatures that would call for heating) and 84 degrees forsummer periods (or outside temperatures that would call for cooling).Specific details of the away-state feature can also be found in U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/627,996 filed Oct. 21, 2011 that waspreviously incorporated herein by reference.

The away-state confidence window (ASCW) corresponds to a time intervalof sensed non-occupancy after which a reasonably reliable operatingassumption can be made, with a reasonable degree of statisticalaccuracy, that there are indeed no occupants in the enclosure. Accordingto one embodiment, it has been found that a predetermined period in therange of 90-180 minutes can be a suitable period for the ASCW toaccommodate for common situations such as quiet book reading, working inthe yard, short naps, etc. in which there is no sensed movement orrelated indication for the occupancy sensors to detect.

The effectiveness of the away-state feature may in part depend upon howreliably the control unit can determine whether or not the enclosure isoccupied. In one sense, this reliability may depend in part on thereliability of the occupancy sensors to detect a physical presencewithin a responsive area of the occupancy sensors. In another sense,this reliability may also depend in part on where the control unit hasbeen placed in the enclosure, as well as the living patterns of theinhabitants. For example, a control unit may be placed in an area of anenclosure where is not easy for the occupancy sensors to detect whethersomeone is in the home or not, such as in a closet, a rarely-usedhallway, a basement, or even in a high-traffic location that is obscuredby other household objects. Of course, it is difficult for the controlunit itself to determine whether it is located in one of these non-idealareas of an enclosure. It may also be difficult rely on deliberate userinputs (i.e. user-entered location information) to make thisdetermination, as users may enter this data incorrectly if at all.

Therefore, in order to efficiently and correctly use an away-statefeature, a control unit may make a determination as to a level of“sensor confidence” before it relies on the occupancy sensors to enablethe away-state feature. Specifically, some embodiments herein may notenable the away-state feature upon installation. Instead, theseembodiments may evaluate sensor responses during a trial period in orderto establish a level of sensor confidence. If the level of sensorconfidence is sufficient, and exceeds a predetermined threshold, theaway-state feature can be enabled. Otherwise, to avoid creating anuncomfortable environment within an occupied enclosure, the away-statefeature can remain disabled until such a level of sensor confidence isestablished.

According to one embodiment, sensor confidence can be established bymonitoring the readings from one or more occupancy sensors, anddetermining whether they have detected a threshold level of occupancyevents. Simply, if the occupancy sensors detect a physical presencewithin their responsive areas during a large portion of the operatingtime, it can be assumed that the control unit is disposed at a locationwithin the enclosure that can reliably detect whether the enclosure isoccupied or not. In this case, a high level of sensor confidence can beassumed, such that the occupancy sensors can be relied upon to determinewhen the away-state feature should be activated. On the other hand, ifthe occupancy sensors only detect a physical presence within theirresponsive areas during a relatively small portion of the operatingtime, it can be assumed that the control unit is disposed at a locationwithin the enclosure that cannot reliably detect whether the enclosureis occupied or not. In this case, only a low level of sensor confidencecan be assumed, and thus the occupancy sensors may not necessarily berelied upon to determine when the away-state feature should beactivated. In one embodiment, the away-state feature will not be enabledunless a requisite level of sensor confidence is established.

As various methods and systems for determining whether the away-statefeatures can be enabled, it will be understood that the ensuingdiscussion can apply to any control unit as described above. However,throughout the remainder of this disclosure a specific type ofimplementation will be used, namely a thermostat. It will be understoodthat the principles described using thermostat hardware and software canbe easily applied to other control units by one having skill in the artin light of this disclosure.

Specific to a thermostat, the away-state feature can be used todetermine when a home is unoccupied, and in response, to activate anautomated setpoint temperature setback mode where a predeterminedsetpoint temperature is set on the thermostat. For example, for anunoccupied home in the summertime, the setpoint temperature may behigher than the setpoint temperature would otherwise be in an occupiedhome. Likewise, for an unoccupied home in the wintertime, the setpointtemperature may be lower than the setpoint temperature would otherwisebe in an occupied home. It will be understood that various permutationsof these conditions may apply depending on the climate and userpreferences.

Provided according to one preferred embodiment is a self-qualificationalgorithm by which the thermostat determines whether it can, or cannot,reliably go into an away-state mode to save energy, i.e., whether it has“sensor confidence” for its occupancy sensor measurements. For onepreferred embodiment, the away-state feature is disabled for apredetermined period such as 7 days after device startup (i.e., initialinstallation or factory reset). On the days following startup within thepredetermined time period (or another empirically predetermined suitablesample time period), the occupancy sensor activity can be tracked bydiscrete sequential “time buckets” of activity, such as 5-minutebuckets, where a bucket is either empty (if no occupancy event is sensedin that interval) or full (if one or more occupancy events is sensed inthat interval). Out of the total number of buckets for that time period,if there is greater than a predetermined threshold percentage of bucketsthat are full, then “sensor confidence” is established, and if there isless than that percentage of full buckets, then there is no sensorconfidence established. The predetermined threshold can be empiricallydetermined for a particular model, version, or setting of thethermostat. In one example, it has been found that 3.5% is a suitablethreshold, i.e., if there are 30 or more full buckets for the three-daysample, then “sensor confidence” is established, although this will varyfor different devices, models, and settings.

FIG. 6A illustrates an overhead view 600 a of an area monitored by athermostat 602, according to one embodiment. The area monitored by thethermostat 602 may comprise a room within a building, a hallway, an openliving area, and/or the like. The temperature sensors of thermostat 602may be configured to detect the ambient temperature of the area beingmonitored. As illustrated by FIG. 6, various sensors of the thermostat602 may have different responsive areas. For example, an occupancysensor may include a responsive area 604 denoted by the set of dashedlines. As used herein, the term “responsive area” may include an area inwhich a phenomenon that a sensor is configured to detect will generate aresponse by the sensor. For example, a motion detector associated withresponsive area 604 could detect motion within the responsive area 604of an object meeting the specifications of the motion detector. Itshould be noted that some objects may not meet the specifications of themotion detector, such as stationary objects, objects that do not emit asufficient level of infrared radiation, or smaller objects such as pets.

Merely generating a response from a sensor may not be sufficient toinfer that a physical presence is detected. The actual responsegenerated by a sensor when an event occurs within its associatedresponsive area will in many cases be dependent on the intensity of theevent or the distance of the event from the thermostat. For example, ifan event occurs along the periphery of the associated responsive area,the response of the sensor may be small. However, if an event occurscloser to the thermostat, the response of the sensor may be larger.Therefore, some embodiments may determine a threshold for a sensorresponse in order to qualify as a physical presence.

Generally, a threshold can correspond to a voltage/current output, adigital readout, the frequency, or other similar electrical output of asensor. The threshold may correspond to a certain distance, such asdistance 608 for an event having a known intensity. For example, a userapproaching the thermostat 602 with a PIR sensor associated withresponsive area 604 could trip a threshold when coming within distance608 of the thermostat 602. Larger persons or persons moving rapidly maytrip the threshold nearer or farther than distance 608 at the samethreshold. It should be noted, that in one embodiment, no threshold needbe used, and any activity registered by the occupancy sensor may besufficient to infer a physical presence.

The overhead view 600 a illustrated by FIG. 6A shows an example of athermostat 602 that is installed in a location where a high level ofsensor confidence may be established. This may correspond to a livingroom, a kitchen, or a busy hallway. In contrast, FIG. 6B illustrates anoverhead view 600 b of another area monitored by thermostat. In thisembodiment, the thermostat 602 is installed in a location that may notsee enough user traffic to establish a high level of user confidence.The responsive area 604 of the occupancy sensor may be targeted in adirection that will not capture the physical presence of occupants ofthe home very often. Additionally, obstacles, such as a plant 610 may itsecure the view of the thermostat 602. Finally, the thermostat 602 maybe installed in an enclosure inside the home, such as a closet or nook.Any or all of these factors may reduce the level of sensor confidencesuch that the away-state feature should not be enabled.

In order to determine whether the thermostat 602 is installed in ahigh-confidence location such as is shown in FIG. 6A, various evaluationmethods may be used. FIG. 7 illustrates a state diagram 700 fordetermining whether sufficient sensor confidence can be established forenabling and away-state feature, according to one embodiment. Here, atrial period can be used to train the thermostat. During the trialperiod, occupancy sensor readings may be recorded and evaluated. At theend of the trial period, the occupancy sensor readings can be analyzedto determine whether a threshold criterion has been met, and if so, theaway-state feature can be enabled.

The operations in state diagram 700 begin when the thermostat isinstalled, reset, or otherwise caused to default to a set of factorysettings. At this point, the thermostat may enter into a training state702. The thermostat may stay in the training state 702 throughout thetrial period. While in the training state 702, the thermostat may recordany and all measurements provided by one or more occupancy sensors. Inone embodiment, the occupancy sensor measurements can be time stampedand/or recorded based on a portion of the trial period in which theyoccurred.

At the end of the trial period, the thermostat may enter an evaluationstate 704 where it can be determined whether a threshold criterion hasbeen met. In one embodiment, the thermostat can use the comparison tothe threshold criterion to establish whether sufficiently trueindications of occupancy conditions were sensed by the occupancy sensorsduring the trial period. In other words, the thermostat can analyze allof the occupancy sensor responses that were recorded during the trialperiod, and can then determine whether there were enough occupancysensor responses to characterize the responses as true indications ofoccupancy. In one embodiment, too few occupancy sensor responses mayindicate that the thermostat is not truly sensing the occupancy of theenclosure because it may be assumed that if placed in a better locationthe thermostat would receive more occupancy sensor responses. On theother hand, sufficient occupancy sensor responses may be characterizedas a true indication that the thermostat can correctly determine theoccupancy of the enclosure.

If the threshold criterion is met, then the thermostat can move into anenabled state 706 where the away-state feature is enabled. Afterwards,when the thermostat detects that the enclosure is no longer occupied,the thermostat may enter into and away-state mode of operation 708. Thisdetermination may be made by a processing system based on readingsacquired by the occupancy sensors, and the away-state mode of operationmay include an automated setback temperature setback mode. In oneembodiment, the away-state feature may be enabled throughout theremaining service period of the thermostat, or until it is installed ina new location, reset, or loses power.

In another embodiment (not shown) certain conditions may exist whereinthe thermostat can disable the away-state feature. For example, afterthe away-state feature is enabled, the thermostat can return to thetraining state 702 if long periods of non-occupancy are detected. Afterthe trial period ends again, the thermostat could again determinewhether the threshold criterion is met and whether the away-statefeature should be disabled or continue to be enabled. In someembodiments, the training period may be re-entered and repeated inperpetuity throughout the life of the thermostat.

In one embodiment, the trial period may be repeated only a few timesafter installation. In some cases, users may interact with thermostatmore than usual in the weeks following installation in order to makesure that it is working properly, or to fine tune the user-adjustablefeatures. Therefore, occupancy sensor readings during the weeksimmediately following installation may not be truly indicative of thereal level of sensor confidence throughout the lifetime of thethermostat. In order to solve this problem, the trial period may berepeated one or more times after installation. For example, the trialperiod may be repeated one, two, three, four, five or, six times, and soforth, depending upon the embodiment in particular installationcharacteristics.

Returning now to FIG. 7, if while in the evaluation state 704 and thethermostat determines that the threshold criterion is not met orsatisfied, then the thermostat may return to the training state 702 andrepeat the trial period. In one embodiment, the trial period can berepeated by clearing a memory storing the occupancy sensor readings andstarting over. In another embodiment, the trial period may be considereda sliding window, wherein the oldest sensor readings may be removed andreplaced by newer sensor readings as they are obtained. For example, anentire day's worth of the oldest sensor readings could be removed andreplaced by the current day's sensor readings. The length of the trialperiod may also be adjusted in this embodiment such that one week'sworth of sensor measurements are evaluated at the end of each day aftera least one week of sensor measurements are obtained. Of course, thetrial period lasting one week is merely exemplary, and the trial periodmay also last one day, ten days, one month, two weeks, and so forth. Ifat the end of any successful trial period the threshold criterion isdetermined to be met, the thermostat can transition into the enabledstate 706 and the away-state feature may be enabled.

FIG. 8 illustrates a graph 800 of various sensors responses during atrial period, according to one embodiment. First, graph 800 illustrateshow a trial period may be divided into a plurality of time windows, or“time buckets.” Instead of storing an indication every time an occupancysensor detects a physical presence, a single indication of whether aphysical presence was detected can be stored for each time window. Thismay simplify calculations, reduce the amount of memory required, and/ormake it easier to correlate sensor measurements with other events. Forexample, the timeline in FIG. 8 illustrates at least a portion of atrial period. This portion of the trial period can be divided up intovarious time windows, such as windows 824, 826, 828, and 830. In oneembodiment, each of the time windows is approximately 5 minutes long. Inother embodiments, each of the time windows can be between 3 and 7minutes, approximately 10 minutes, 1 minute, and so forth. In someembodiments each of the time windows may have a uniform length, while inother embodiments each of the time windows may have different lengths.

FIG. 8 also illustrates a number of sensor responses. Response 806 maycorrespond to an occupancy sensor, such as a PIR sensor or an activeproximity sensor. Response 806 illustrates a number of distinct responsetypes that correspond to whether or not a physical presence is detectedwithin the sensor's responsive area. Section 817 of response 806illustrates a response characteristic of a physical presence detectedwithin the responsive area of the occupancy sensor. Similarly, section822 illustrates another response characteristic of a physical presencehaving a somewhat longer duration than the response of section 817.Section 816 of response 806 illustrates a response characteristic of anoccupancy sensor that does not detect a physical presence within itsresponsive area.

Occupancy sensor responses indicative of a physical presence may beconfined to a single time window or may span several time windows.Generally, a threshold may be used, such as threshold 834 to determinewhether a sensor response is sufficient to indicate a physical presence.In one embodiment, any time window recording a sensor response thatsatisfies the threshold may be recorded in the time window during whichoccupancy was sensed. In this particular example, section 817 wouldrecord an occupancy response during time window 824. Section 822,however, would record an occupancy response during both time window 828and time window 830.

Other sensor types may be used to determine whether a detected physicalresponse should be used to qualify the thermostat for enabling theaway-state feature. In one embodiment, it may be desirable to onlyrecord a physical presence when a user does not interact with thethermostat. The operating theory in this embodiment is that even if thethermostat is placed in a location that is unsuitable to establishsufficient sensor confidence, a number of physical presence events maystill be detected when users interact with the thermostat. Someembodiments of the thermostat discussed above may include so-called“learning thermostats” that learn user behaviors such that actualinteractions or minimized after an initial period of acclamation.Therefore, occupancy may need to be detected during conditions whereusers rarely interact with the thermostat. If the trial period fordetermining whether the away-state feature can be enabled takes placeshortly after installation, many of the physical presence events sensedby the occupancy sensors may correspond to interactions with thethermostat before it learns user behavior, and thus may not be trulyindicative of the level of sensor confidence needed to correctlydetermine occupancy.

To solve this problem, one embodiment may use various interactionsensors to determine when a user interacts with the thermostat. Theresponses of these interaction sensors can be correlated with theresponses of the occupancy sensors in order to eliminate the occupancysensor responses that coincide with interactions. Interaction sensorsmay include near-range PIR sensors, near-range active proximity sensors,sound sensors, light sensors, and/or the like. In a preferredembodiment, an interaction sensor includes sensors configured to detecta physical manipulation of a user interface of the thermostat. Thesesensors may be referred to herein as “manipulation sensors.”

In FIG. 8, response 802 may represent the output of a manipulationsensor, such as an optical sensor coupled to a rotatable ring disposedaround an outer perimeter of the thermostat housing. The optical sensormay provide an output whenever a rotation of the outer ring takes place,or when the user otherwise manipulates the user interface. As shown,response 802 includes section 820 representing a physical manipulationof the thermostat. Note that section 820 of response 802 coincides withsection 822 of response 806 from the occupancy sensor. Therefore,section 822 of response 806 can be excluded by some embodiments from thereadings recorded during the trial period. In contrast, there is nocorresponding manipulation event for section 817 of response 806, andthus time window 820 may record a record physical presence event.

In some cases, manipulation events may not precisely coincide withphysical presence events as detected by these two types of sensors. Inone embodiment, whenever a manipulation event is detected, physicalpresence events may be disregarded that occurred within the same timewindow. In another embodiment, physical presence events may bedisregarded that occurred within one, two, or three time windows of themanipulation event.

At the conclusion of the trial period, the recorded sensor responses canbe analyzed. In one embodiment, the sensor response for each time windowmay be stored within a data structure. Generating a metriccharacterizing the occupancy during the time period may comprisedetermining the percentage of time windows during which at least onephysical presence was detected compared to the number of time windowsduring which no physical presence was detected. From this, a percentageof occupancy may be obtained. This metric may be referred to as an“occupancy level” and may represent the percentage of time windowsduring which physical presences were detected.

Other more sophisticated means of computing an occupancy level may alsobe used. In some embodiments, it may be useful to store metrics thatdifferentiate between weekends and weekdays. Some embodiments may alsostore metrics that represents physical presence events detected duringthe same time window during each day.

FIG. 9 illustrates a graph 900 depicting one method of storing occupancysensor measurements, according to one embodiment. For convenience,response 902, response 906, as well as sections 916, 920, and 922 aresimilar to those shown in FIG. 8. Response 908 can represent how thevarious responses are stored in a data structure within a memory. Inthis particular embodiment, time windows 924, 926, 928, and 930 mayrepresent time windows that occur daily. For example, time window 924may represent 9:00 AM through 9:05 AM during each weekday. When aphysical presence event is detected by the occupancy sensor, such assection 916 of response 906, the value stored in the memory location fortime window 924 can be adjusted.

In this particular example, the value stored in the memory location foreach time window represents the percentage of days during the timeperiod that a physical presence event was detected during the timewindow. As shown by response 908, the value 910 stored for time window924 can represent 100% if response 906 occurs in the first day of thetrial period. Notice also that values 912 and 914 represent 0% becausesection 922 of response 906 corresponds with a manipulation event.

FIG. 10 illustrates a graph 1000 depicting storage of occupancy sensormeasurements during the trial period, according to one embodiment. Trace1002 represents the value stored for each time window during theprevious days of the trial period. In this example, a physical presenceevent occurred during time window 1026 during every previous day duringthe trial period. Similarly, a physical presence event occurred duringtime window 1030 during a proximally 50% of the previous days during thetrial period. Trace 1004 represents sensor responses during a currentday of the trial period. In this example, a physical presence event wasdetected during time windows 1014, 1016, and 1018. Note that otherphysical presence events may have occurred during other time windows,such as time window 1032; however these physical presence events mayhave been excluded because of other sensor responses, such as responsesfrom manipulation sensors.

Trace 1006 represents the value stored for each time window after thecurrent day's physical presence events have been recorded. In otherwords, trace 1006 is the result of applying trace 1004 to trace 1002. Inthis example, because a physical presence event 1014 was detected on thecurrent day, the value stored for time window 1026 remains at 100%.Similarly, physical presence event 1016 was detected on the current day,and thus the value stored for time window 1028 changes from 0% to 33%.It can be inferred from this calculation that the values represented bytrace 1002 represent the cumulative effects of two previous days.Therefore value 1022 of 33% represents two previous days withoutphysical presence events combined with the physical presence event ofthe current day. Likewise, physical presence event 1018 can be added tothe 50% value previously stored for time window 1030 to generate a newvalue of 66%. Time window 1032 does not show a physical presence eventon the current day or on any previous days. Therefore, the value fortime window 1032 remains at 0%.

According to this example, each time window may represent a bucket oftime that reoccurs throughout the trial period. Although 24 hours hasbeen used as the reoccurrence period, it will be clear in light of thisdisclosure that any other period could also be used. Some embodimentsmay store measurements according to every hour, or according to every 12hour cycle. Other embodiments may store measurements that repeat weekly.

As discussed previously, if the trial period ends and it is determinedthat the threshold criterion is not met, the thermostat may again enterthe training mode and begin a new trial period. When a new trial periodbegins, the memory locations for each time window may be reset to zero.In another embodiment, the values currently stored in the memorylocations for each time window may be retained, and the percentage maycontinue to be adjusted over the new trial period. Other embodiments maydiscount the value of previously stored in the memory locations suchthat it is weighed less than new values acquired during the new trialperiod.

In embodiments where the value stored for each time window representssensor measurements obtained during time intervals that repeat daily, itmay be advantageous to treat the values for weekdays differently thanweekends. It has been observed that user patterns of occupancy tend tofollow a first pattern during weekdays and a second pattern duringweekends when the homes are traditionally more occupied.

FIG. 11 illustrates a representation of occupancy levels for each day inone week, according to one embodiment. Here, occupancy levels 1106,1108, 1110, 1112, 1114, 1116, and 1118 have been generated for each dayby combining the occupancy levels for each time window occurring forthat day. This may be done by simply adding the time intervals during aday in which a physical presence was detected and comparing it to thenumber of time intervals during the day in which no physical presencewas detected.

In order to generate a single occupancy level statistic, the occupancylevels for each day can be combined. In one embodiment, a total weekdayoccupancy level 1102 can be generated by combining the occupancy levelsfrom each weekday. Similarly, a total weekend occupancy level 1104 canbe generated by combining the occupancy levels from Saturday and Sunday.The weekday occupancy level 1102 can be combined with the weekendoccupancy level 1104 by combining the two statistics proportionally. Inone embodiment, the weekday occupancy level 1102 can be multiplied by5/7 and the weekend occupancy level 1104 can be multiplied by 2/7 andadded together to generate a final occupancy level.

In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 10 where the time windows repeatdaily, this process can be simplified. For example, a single datastructure may be used for a single set of time windows during weekdays,and a single data structure may be used for a single set of time windowsduring weekends. These the weekday time windows can be combined togenerate a weekday occupancy level, and the weekend time windows can becombined to generate a weekend occupancy level. The weekend occupancylevel can be combined with the weekday occupancy level as describedabove to generate a final occupancy level.

In other embodiments (not shown) different time windows can be combinedusing different weights. In one embodiment, a morning occupancy levelcan be generated and combined with an evening occupancy level. Inanother embodiment, a mealtime occupancy level can be generated andcombined with a non-mealtime occupancy level. These different timewindows can be combined using different weights. For example, a mealtimeoccupancy level may be weighted more heavily than a non-mealtimeoccupancy level when combined. It will be understood in light of thisdisclosure that many other types of combinations and repeating sequencesof time windows may be used.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart 1200 of a method for determining whetheran away-state feature should be enabled, according to one embodiment.The method may include installing or resetting the thermostat (1201). Areset may be manually initiated by a user, or may be remotely instructedby a control server. The method may also include recording sensorreadings (1202). In one embodiment, the sensor readings may be fromoccupancy sensor(s) that are disposed within the housing of thethermostat and configured to detect physical presences of users within aresponsive area of the occupancy sensor(s). The occupancy sensor may bein operative communication with a processing system. In one embodiment,the occupancy sensor(s) may comprise a PIR sensor.

A processing system may be disposed within the housing and coupled to auser interface. The processing system may be configured to be inoperative communication with one or more temperature sensors fordetermining an ambient air temperature, and in operative communicationwith one or more input devices including the user interface fordetermining a setpoint temperature value, and in still further operativecommunication with a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)system to control the HVAC system based at least in part on a comparisonof a measured ambient temperature and the setpoint temperature value.

The sensor readings may be acquired during a trial period. In oneembodiment, the trial period begins upon installation and/or reset ofthe thermostat. The trial period may be in any interval of time,including between five and eight days, as well as one week. The acquiredsensor readings may, in one embodiment, be stored according to aplurality of time windows. The trial period may be divided into theplurality of time windows, wherein each of the readings from theoccupancy sensors are stored in a corresponding one of the plurality oftime windows during which the reading occurs. In one embodiment, sensorreadings may be excluded that also correspond with manipulation or aninferred intent to interact with or view the thermostat.

The method may also include determining the end of the trial period(1204). At the end of the trial period, an occupancy level may becomputed for the trial period based on the stored sensor readings, orthe stored indications of how often the occupancy sensor(s) detectedphysical presences of users during the trial period. In one embodiment,stored indications that correspond to a weekday can be treateddifferently when computing the occupancy level than a subset of thestored indications that corresponds to a weekend.

In one embodiment, the processing system may comprise a head unitprocessor and a backplate processor as described above. The backplateprocessor may receive, store, and manage the occupancy sensor(s)readings. In one embodiment, the readings may be sent to the head unitprocessor at the end of the trial period in order to generate anoccupancy level and to determine whether the occupancy level satisfiesthe threshold criterion. In another embodiment, the backplate processormay perform all of these functions without waking the head unitprocessor.

The method may additionally include determining whether a thresholdcriterion is satisfied (1206). In the away-state feature, the thermostatenters into an away-state mode of operation upon a determination by theprocessing system based upon readings acquired by the occupancysensor(s) that an away-stay criterion indicative of a non-occupancycondition for an enclosure in which the thermostat has been installedhas been satisfied. The away-mode of operation may include an automatedsetpoint temperature setback mode.

In one embodiment, the threshold criterion may be designed to establishwhether the thermostat is placed in a location in the enclosure whereoccupancy information is readily sensed by the occupancy sensor(s) ofthe thermostat. In one embodiment, the threshold criterion represents anoccupancy level of between approximately 0.02 and 0.10. In anotherembodiment, the threshold criterion represents an occupancy level ofapproximately 0.035.

Determining whether the threshold criterion is satisfied may includecomparing the occupancy level for the trial period to the thresholdcriterion. In another embodiment, this determination may comprisecomparing information derived from the trial period readings to thethreshold criterion to establish whether sufficiently true indicationsof occupancy conditions were sensed by the occupancy sensor(s) duringthe trial period.

The method may further include enabling the away-state feature of thethermostat if it is determined that the sufficiently true indications ofoccupancy conditions were sensed during the trial period (1208). In oneembodiment, the processing system can be further configured to determinewhether to activate the away-state feature after a second trial period.The second trial period may be instituted in response to a failure tosatisfy the threshold criterion. In other words, the second trial periodmay be instituted after a determination that the sufficiently trueindications of occupancy conditions were not sensed during the firsttrial period. If is determined that the away-state feature should not beenabled, then method may again begin recording new occupancy sensorreadings during a new trial period (1210).

It will be understood that details disclosed in other sections of thisdisclosure may also be incorporated into the method described inrelation to FIG. 12. For example, the trial period may be divided intorepeating time windows and stored in memory locations that are latercombined according to various methods disclosed herein to compute anoccupancy level. Other similar features may be incorporated into themethod above.

It should be appreciated that the specific steps illustrated in FIG. 12provide particular methods of determining whether an away-state featureshould be enabled according to various embodiments of the presentinvention. Other sequences of steps may also be performed according toalternative embodiments. For example, alternative embodiments of thepresent invention may perform the steps outlined above in a differentorder. Moreover, the individual steps illustrated in FIG. 12 may includemultiple sub-steps that may be performed in various sequences asappropriate to the individual step. Furthermore, additional steps may beadded or removed depending on the particular applications. One ofordinary skill in the art would recognize many variations,modifications, and alternatives.

Thus, provided according to one or more of the embodiments is a device(which in some particularly advantageous embodiments is a thermostat),its related user interfaces, and related methods and systems thatfacilitate a user-friendly, enjoyable, pleasant experience during thecrucial “first contact” period and equally crucial first couple of daysand/or weeks thereafter in that (a) the user is not bothered with theneed to decide whether to allow (activate) or to not allow (notactivate) the automatic away-state functionality when they are settingup the device, while at the same time (b) the device will not triggerinto the automatic away-state unless it determines itself to be“qualified” to make that decision, thereby avoiding (or substantiallylessening the likelihood) of a case in which the device triggers intothe auto-away state (e.g., turning down the setpoint temperature duringwintertime) while the user is actually still occupying the premises.Whereas many alterations and modifications of the present invention willno doubt become apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art afterhaving read the foregoing description, it is to be understood that theparticular embodiments shown and described by way of illustration are inno way intended to be considered limiting.

Therefore, reference to the details of the preferred embodiments is notintended to limit their scope.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermostat, comprising: a housing; a processingsystem disposed within the housing and coupled to a user interface, theprocessing system being configured to be in operative communication withone or more temperature sensors for determining an ambient airtemperature, in operative communication with one or more input devicesincluding said user interface for determining a setpoint temperaturevalue, and in still further operative communication with a heating,ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVACsystem based at least in part on a comparison of a measured ambienttemperature and the setpoint temperature value; and at least oneoccupancy sensor in operative communication with the processing system,the thermostat including an away-state feature in which the thermostatenters into an away-state mode of operation upon a determination by theprocessing system based on readings acquired by the at least oneoccupancy sensor that an away-state criterion indicative of anon-occupancy condition for an enclosure in which the thermostat hasbeen installed has been satisfied, the away-state mode of operationincluding an automated setpoint temperature setback mode; wherein theprocessing system is further configured to automatically determine,without requiring user input, whether to activate said away-statefeature for the enclosure in which the thermostat has been installed,said determining comprising: receiving readings from the at least oneoccupancy sensor during a trial period; comparing information derivedfrom said trial period readings to a threshold criterion to establishwhether sufficiently true indications of occupancy conditions weresensed by the at least one occupancy sensor during the trial period; andenabling said away-state feature of the thermostat only if it isdetermined that the sufficiently true indications of occupancyconditions were sensed during the trial period.
 2. The thermostat ofclaim 1, wherein the at least one occupancy sensor comprises a PassiveInfrared sensor (PIR) mounted within the housing of the thermostat. 3.The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the threshold criterion is designedto establish whether the thermostat is placed in a location in theenclosure where occupancy information is readily sensed by the at leastone occupancy sensor of the thermostat.
 4. The thermostat of claim 1,wherein the trial period begins upon installation of the thermostatwithin the enclosure.
 5. The thermostat of claim 1, wherein the trialperiod comprises between approximately five and eight days.
 6. Thethermostat of claim 1, wherein the trial period is divided into aplurality of time windows, wherein the each of the readings from the atleast one occupancy sensor are stored in a corresponding one of theplurality of time windows during which the reading occurs.
 7. A methodof qualifying a thermostat to activate an away-state feature, the methodcomprising: receiving readings from at least one occupancy sensor duringa trial period, the at least one occupancy sensor being in operativecommunication with a processing system, wherein: the processing systemis disposed within a thermostat housing and coupled to a user interface,the processing system being configured to be in operative communicationwith one or more temperature sensors for determining an ambient airtemperature, in operative communication with one or more input devicesincluding said user interface for determining a setpoint temperaturevalue, and in still further operative communication with a heating,ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVACsystem based at least in part on a comparison of a measured ambienttemperature and the setpoint temperature value; comparing informationderived from said trial period readings to threshold criterion toestablish whether sufficiently true indications of occupancy conditionswere sensed by the at least one occupancy sensor during the trialperiod; determining automatically, without requiring user input, whetherto activate the away-state feature for an enclosure in which thethermostat has been installed, wherein: the away-state feature causesthe thermostat to enter into an away-state mode of operation upon adetermination by the processing system based on the readings acquired bythe at least one occupancy sensor that an away-state criterionindicative of a non-occupancy condition for the enclosure in which thethermostat has been installed has been satisfied, the away-state mode ofoperation including an automated setpoint temperature setback mode; andenabling said away-state feature of the thermostat only if it isdetermined that the sufficiently true indications of occupancyconditions were sensed during the trial period.
 8. The method of claim7, wherein the at least one occupancy sensor comprises a PassiveInfrared sensor (PIR) mounted within a housing of the thermostat.
 9. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the threshold criterion is designed toestablish whether the thermostat is placed in a location in theenclosure where occupancy information is readily sensed by the at leastone occupancy sensor of the thermostat.
 10. The method of claim 7,wherein the trial period begins upon installation of the thermostatwithin the enclosure.
 11. The method of claim 7, wherein the trialperiod comprises approximately 7 days.
 12. The method of claim 7,wherein the trial period is divided into a plurality of time windows,wherein the each of the readings from the at least one occupancy sensorare stored in a corresponding one of the plurality of time windowsduring which each reading occurs.
 13. A thermostat, comprising: ahousing; an occupancy sensor that is disposed within the housing andconfigured to detect physical presences of users within a responsivearea of the occupancy sensor; a processing system that is disposedwithin the housing and in operative communication with the occupancysensor, the processing system being configured to determine after atrial period whether to activate an away-state feature, said determiningcomprising: storing indications of how often the occupancy sensordetected physical presences of users during the trial period; computingan occupancy level for the trial period based on the stored indications;comparing the occupancy level to a threshold criterion; determiningwhether sufficiently true indications of occupancy conditions weresensed by the occupancy sensor during the trial period based on thecomparison; and enabling the away-state feature of the thermostat onlyif it is determined that the sufficiently true indications of occupancyconditions were sensed during the trial period.
 14. The thermostat ofclaim 13, wherein the processing system is further configured toexclude, from the computing of the occupancy level, a detected physicalpresence when the detected physical presence coincides with a physicalmanipulation of the thermostat.
 15. The thermostat of claim 13, whereina subset of the stored indications that correspond to a weekday aretreated differently when computing the occupancy level than a subset ofthe stored indications that correspond to a weekend.
 16. The thermostatof claim 13, wherein the away-state feature causes the thermostat toentes into an away-state mode of operation upon a determination by theprocessing system based on readings acquired by the occupancy sensorthat an away-state criterion indicative of a non-occupancy condition foran enclosure in which the thermostat has been installed has beensatisfied, the away-state mode of operation including an automatedsetpoint temperature setback mode.
 17. The thermostat of claim 13,wherein the trial period comprises a first trial period, and wherein theprocessing system is further configured to determine whether to activatethe away-state feature after a second trial period in response to adetermination that the sufficiently true indications of occupancyconditions were not sensed during the first trial period.
 18. Thethermostat of claim 13, wherein the processing system is disposed withinthe housing and coupled to a user interface, the processing system beingconfigured to be in operative communication with one or more temperaturesensors for determining an ambient air temperature, in operativecommunication with one or more input devices including said userinterface for determining a setpoint temperature value, and in stillfurther operative communication with a heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) system to control the HVAC system based at least inpart on a comparison of a measured ambient temperature and the setpointtemperature value.